Safety device for ash-conveyer discharge-conduits



L. A. GRIFFIN.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ASH CONVEYER DISCHARGE CO NDUITS. APPLICATION FILEDOCT. 20, I919.

1,361,252. f Patented Dec. 7,1920.

2 $HEETS-SHEET l.

2T o 0/ l-lllllll 50 /J 1 "III 5/ ;I h r 1 z T FEl n we i 63 L. A.GRIFFIN. SAFETY DEVICE FOR ASH CONVEYER DISCHARGE CONDUITS. APPLICATIONFILED OCT. 20, 1919.

1,361,252, Patented Dec. 2,1920;

2 S'HEETSLSHEET 2'.

i i I WIIIIII UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LORNE A. GRIFFIN, OE EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN STEAM CON-VEYOR CORPORATION, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SAFETY DEVICE FOR ASH-CONVEYER DISCHARGE-CONDIIITS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec. *7, 1920.

Application filed October 20, 1919. Serial No. 332,041.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LORNE A. GRIFFIN, acitizen of the United States, residin at E'vanston, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Safety Devices for Ash-Conveyer Discharge-Conduits, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description,reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of thisspecification.

My inventlon relates broadly to ash conveyers; more specifically, to theprovision of devices for insuring the safety of a Workman entering anash tank through the door or man-hole usually provided forthat purose. pAsh conveyers of the steam or pneumatic types as now generally used,comprise heavy pipe lines leading from a point at or adjacent to thefurnaces from which the ashes are to be conveyed to an ash tank which,except for an air vent, is, usually closed. .The ashes are allowed toaccumulate in this tank until the tank is full or until it is convenientto haul the ashes away. In addition, such conveyer conduits comprisehoppers at or near the furnaces for introducing the ashes. into theconduit and means accessible to the man at the furnaces for injectingsteam under pressure into the conduit, or otherwise causing a violentdraft in the conduit, to cause the ashes to travel from the hoppers tothe ash tank. Such ash conveyer systems, generally speaking, are nowquite well known, wherefore it will not be necessary for me toillustrate and describe all of the details thereof in thisspecification.

Due to the fact that the means for causing the ashes to travel throughthe conduit are ordinarily under the control of the engineer or firemanat the furnaces, workmen have heretofore been very loath to enter suchash tanks because of the ever present possibility that the man at thefurnaces may turn on the steam, if it be a steam conveyer system, andstrangle the workman in the tank with live steam and ash dust before hecould get out of the tank, or before the discharge of steam and ashescould be discontinued. This same condition exists in penumatic ashconveyer systems where a fan or blower sets up the ash conveying draftin the conduit and where the operation of the fan or blower is under thecontrol of someone other than the workman who is required to enter theash tank. The object of my invention is to provide means for insuringthat whenever a workman enters the ash tank for any purpose, thedischarge end of the conveyer conduit will be effectively closed toprevent steam or ashes from entering the ash tank while the workman isengaged at Work therein, notwithstanding the fact that the man at thefurnaces may turn on the steam or put the air draft mechanism inoperation. I also contemplate that the same means which insures that thedis charge end of the conduit is closed when the workman enters the tankshall insure that, when the workman leaves the ,tank and closes the dooror man-hole cover behind him, the discharge end of the conveyer conduitwill be opened, thereby again placing the system entirely under thecontrol of the man at the furnaces.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings whereinr Figure1,, which is a view partly in section and partly in portion of an ashconveyer conduit and the ash tank in which said conduit terminates;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary View, partly in section and partly in elevation,of the discharge end of the conveyer conduit and the safety devicesappurtenant thereto;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and v Fig. 4illustrates my invention applied to an ash tank wherein the man-hole isprovided with a hinged door as distinguished from the sliding door shownin Fig. 1.

Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views.

In the drawings at 10, I have illustrated an ash tank which may be ofany suitable construction and design, the same being provided at thebottom thereof with an ash outlet 11, provided; with the usual gate 12.The tank is conveniently carried on supports 1313 so that by openinggate 12 the ashes collected within the tank may be discharged directlyinto a car carried on track 14. a a

Except for the vent 15 the tank is normally closed. In certain respects,the tank herein shown and described is generally similar to the ash tankdescribed and claimed in my Patent No. 1,211,310, dated elevation,illustrates a January 2nd, 1917. A portion of the ash conveyer conduitis shown at 16, the said conduit extending through the tank wall nearthe top thereof and passing through a deflector plate 17, which with thewalls of the ash tank provides a segmental chamber with which the vent15 communicates. The conduit is arranged to discharge against a baflie18 which is conveniently provided with a hardened wear plate 19. Inthese respects the tank shown corresponds with that shown and describedin my aforesaid patent. It will be understood, however, that my presentinvention is not' limited to use with any particular form of ash tank.

Formed in the top of the ash tank is a man-hole 20 provided with meansfor closing the same which, in Fig. 1 is illustrated in the form of ahorizontal sliding door 21. At the discharge end of the conveyer conduitis a fitting 22, the end of which is conformed to cooperate with anarcuate gate 23, the side members 2424 of which are pivoted to thefitting 22 by bolts 25. A comparatively heavy weight 26 carried by thegate 23 at all times tends to hold the gate in the position shown inFig. 2, the fitting 22 being provided with a shoulder 27 to prevent theweight 26 from carrying the gate downwardly past the position shown inFig. 2. Having one end attached to the weight 26, passing over pulley 27carried by the door of the ash tank and having its other end fastened toone side of the sliding door 21, is a link chain 28. r

In the normal operation of the conveyer system, the man-hole door 21 isclosed and occupies the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 1.When the door 21 is in closed position, the chain 28 is drawn taut withthe result that the gate 23 is held in open position, as illustrated indotted lines in Fig. 1. With the gate in raised or open position, theash conveyer system maybe placed in operation and ashes discharged intothe ash tank whenever desired. Before a workman can enter the ash tank,he must open the door 21. The opening of this door allows the chain 28to become slackened with the result that the heavy weight 26 moves thegate 23 to closed position. A workman ordinarily descends into the tankby means of a ladder 29 placed against the side of the man-hole.Whatever be his means of descent, he will not,

' under any circumstances, close the manhole door 21 until he hascompleted his work and left the ash tank. Thus, it will be seen thatwhenever the door 21 is opened, the discharge end of the ash conveyerconduit is necessarily closed, with the result that there is no dangerof a workman within the tank being sufi'ocated or injured by steam orashes discharged from the conduit.

Another decided advantage of thespecific construction herein shown isthe fact that if the chain 28 should become broken, the weight 26 willbe free to hold the gate 23 in closed position, therefore, any breakingof the connection between the gate and the door will not make itpossible for steam or ashes to be discharged into the tank while thereis a workman therein.

The arrangement shown in Fig. 4c is generally similar to that shown inFig. 1, except that in Fig. 4 the door 21 is pivoted at 21 In this case,the chain 28 which connects the door with the weight 26 passes throughan aperture 30 in the to of the tank and passes over the pulley 2 whichin this case is shown as located outside of the tank. The operation ofthe mechanism shown in Fig. 4 is substantially like that of theapparatus shown in the preceding figures. WVhen the hinged door 21 isclosed, chain 28 isdrawn taut and the gate is held in open position.Whenever the door is opened, the weight 26 holds the gate 22 in closedposition and, of course, should the chain 28 become broken, the weightwill insure the discharge end of the conduit being closed and, under nocircumstances, permits steam or ashes to be discharged into the tankwhile there is a Workman engaged at work therein.

While I have herein illustrated two preferred embodiments ofmyinvention, I do not limit myself to the construction herein shown, butclaim all equivalent constructions embodying the'invention defined bythe appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In combination withatank for an ash conveyer system, an ash conveyer conduit extending intosaid tank and terminating therein, a manhole at the top of said tank, adoor for closing said man-hole, a gate cooperating with the dischargeend of said conduit arranged when in closed position effectively toclose the discharge end of said conveyer conduit and when in openposition to permit said conduit to discharge into said tank, means formoving said gate to closed position whenever the man-hole door is movedto open position and means for moving said gate to open positionwhenever said man-hole door is moved to closed position. 2. Incombination with an ash receiving tank for an ash conveyer system, anash conveyer conduit extending into said tank and terminating therein,an opening in said tank at the top thereof to afford access to theinterior of the tank, a door therefor, a movable gate cooperating withthe discharge end of said conduit, said gate being weighted and normallytendingto assume a position wherein it effectively closes the dischargeend of said conduit, together with a connection between said gate andsaid door for holding said gate in open position when said door is inclosed position and permitting said Weighted gate to assume its closedposition whenever the door is moved to open position.

3. In combination with an ash receiving tank for an ash conveyer system,an ash conveyer conduit extending into said tank and terminatingtherein, an opening affording access to the interior of said tank, a

\ door for closing said opening, a gate for the discharge end of saidconduit arranged when in closed position effectively to prevent saidconduit from discharging into 15 in open position when the door is inclosed 20 position.

In witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 18th day ofSeptember, 1919.

LORNE A. GRIFFIN.

\Vitnesses E. M. RIFF, C. E. Hoqms.

